Climbing Up The Walls
by Jenee
Summary: Judith belongs to the school of thought that fiction is fiction, but a conversation she overhears says otherwise... A somewhat alternative Mary Sue, if it is such...
1. In which Judith meets someone she never ...

My first HP fanfic. Judith (my character) thinks the Harry Potter books are just fiction, but she soon discovers otherwise. This is set about two years after HP and co. have left school.  
  
This is PG-13 for swearing, slash implications, and what comes in later chapters.  
  
Warning: this fanfic contains slash implications, which may (probably) develop as the story goes on. If you have a problem, go away.  
  
Disclaimer: Judith is mine. All the other characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and are in this fanfiction just for a brief holiday. Percy, Dean and Seamus own my heart, the theiving bastards ;o). Climbing Up The Walls is a song by Radiohead with a title that suits Judith's current frame of mind perfectly.  
  
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Judith walked a lot. Every evening she would go out walking anywhere near to wherever she was staying at the time. Given that she was currently researching her family history, she was likely to be in at least five different places every fortnight - the Davis family and all of its various branches had moved around a lot.  
  
On this particular evening, Judith was walking around a small town she could barely remember the name of - something North, she thought vaguely. She had been there for four days, and would have moved on if the chemists had actually bothered to develop her photographs in the twenty four hours she had paid for. Something Norton fell asleep about seven, and the quiet and comfortably warm weather was calming. She was about to turn around and head back towards the bed and breakfast when she heard voices from a side alley. Intrigued, she stopped to listen.  
  
"I've told you a million times, Crabbe, no," a voice said quietly. "Fuck off and leave me alone."  
  
"My master wants you, Malfoy," a stupid-sounding voice replied bluntly. "Your father is very angry with you, and you owe my Lord much service."  
  
"I owe nothing," the first voice replied coldly. "I made no oath."  
  
"Your father made an oath."  
  
"I am not my father."  
  
"The oath was made on your behalf."  
  
"Then it doesn't count anywhere except for the twisted corridors of Voldemort's deranged mind."  
  
"My master said to me to bring you into his service or kill you."  
  
"You're looking forward to the second part." Still calm, somehow.  
  
"Very much." Smug.  
  
Judith peered cautiously around the corner. She had heard those names before, and their origin was familiar enough to her to know what master Crabbe was referring to, and for her to be surprised at Malfoy rejecting him. What she saw confirmed her thoughts. Two men in long black robes pointing their wands at each other. The wider one - Crabbe, it had to be - had his back to her. Further down the alley, facing her, was a shorter, thinner man with blond hair and a pale face with cold eyes for Crabbe. This was Malfoy, she was certain. She had read the books, but that was the problem - booka. It wasn't supposed to be real, and yet Judith knew it was. The next few moments happened while her common sense was looking the other way.  
  
Crabbe raised his wand. Malfoy just glared coldly, pretending not to notice Judith although he must have. Judith stepped properly into the alley behind Crabbe.  
  
"The second you kill one of us the other will kill you," she said coldly.   
  
Crabbe twitched as if to turn around, but must have realised what would happen if he did.  
  
"The second you turn around, I will kill you," Malfoy confirmed, noticing Judith's lack of anything like a wand.  
  
Crabbe shook with anger and disappointment. "I'll see you and your girlfriend again, Malfoy," he spat and disappeared. Disapparated, Judith corrected herself.   
  
They both stood in shocked silence. Judith's common sense returned and made her sit down suddenly.   
  
Malfoy hurried over to her. "Are you alright?" he asked, looking concerned.  
  
"Are you?"  
  
"I'm fine. I heard you round the corner ages ago, and I knew that he wouldn't dare attack with a Muggle around. You don't look alright."  
  
"Physically I'm fine," Judith replied weakly. "But I think I'm about to have a nervous breakdown."  
  
Malfoy sat down in front of her. "Why's that? You just saved my life. You can't bugger off to St Mungo's after that."  
  
Judith buried her head in her hands.   
  
"Lost your wand?" he asked.  
  
"No, I just don't have one."   
  
Malfoy looked puzzled.   
  
"I'm a Muggle, Malfoy. We tend not to."  
  
"How does a Muggle know my name? Hey, how do you even know you're a Muggle?" he asked, looking even more puzzled.  
  
"Have you heard of someone called J. K. Rowling?"  
  
"Should I have?"  
  
"She's a Muggle author. She's written a whole series of children's fantasy books all called 'Harry Potter and the something-or-other'. I've read them."  
  
"Are you joking?"  
  
"I wish I was. I know that you're Draco Malfoy, and that that overgrown slug was Crabbe, and that you were talking about Voldemort."  
  
Malfoy just stared.  
  
"I was also under the impression that Crabbe answered to you and that you were everyone's favourite son of a Death Eater, although the books only go up to your fourth year at the moment so I may have missed something somewhere."  
  
Malfoy was now engaged in the much-practiced art of fly-catching.  
  
"I was," he replied eventually, "But about half way through sixth year I ended up friends with Harry. Since then I've been less popular with Voldemort than Snape is."  
  
"I don't suppose you could fill me in on everything else I've missed, could you? I'd feel slightly less confused."  
  
"Well, Seamus and Dean got together in fifth year, then Ron and Hermione, so Harry and I ended up talking. I'd been having doubts for a while, then he convinced me that Voldemort is in the wrong. In seventh year we got closer than friends and my father threw me out of the house. That's all there is to it, really."  
  
Judith soaked all this in without thinking about it too much. "Where do you live?"  
  
"Here. I think you should come back and meet the others, and tell them about these books."  
  
"Won't you get in trouble?"  
  
"It's not like you don't know about us already," he said wryly. "Besides, I happen to be living with the best friend of the Minister for Magic's brother, so I'm sure we can get away with it."  
  
"Percy?"  
  
"Merlin, no! Percy Weasley left the Ministry last year and went with Neville Longbottom to go around the world. Neville's a herbologist and Percy's a travel writer now."  
  
"Who, then? Not the twins?"  
  
"Nope, they're too busy becoming millionaires from their joke shops. The Minister for Magic is Bill Weasley. He got all political after Fudge refused to have to admit how Cedric Diggory died, and suddenly everyone realised how pathetic Fudge was. He got voted in about two years ago."  
  
"Arg," said Judith, wishing J.K.Rowling had written faster. "What's everyone else doing now? How old are you, anyway?"  
  
"Twenty. I'm a music hack, Harry plays Quidditch for the Chudley Cannons, Hermione's a Professor of Arithmancy, and Ron's supposedly training to be a lawyer. You?"  
  
"I'm nineteen. My great-uncle's paying me to research our family history in my gap year." Malfoy looked puzzled again. "Between ending school and starting university," she explained.  
  
"Oh." He tapped the wall beside them with his wand, and an archway opened just like in Diagon Alley. He stood up and helped Judith up. "Coming?"   



	2. In which Judith meets the others and get...

Warning: this fanfic contains slash implications, which may (probably) develop as the story goes on. If you have a problem, go away.  
  
Disclaimer: Judith is mine. All the other characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and are in this fanfiction just for a brief holiday. I get nothing (dammit, I knew there was a reason I hadn't written much fanfic up til now ;o) ). The title is the title of a song by Radiohead (the second best band in the universe).  
  
Ta very much for all the reviews, Clara2000, kk, Sunshineglow and harry and ginny 4ever.  
I would have uploaded this sooner, but I have several million bits of coursework due in in the next fortnight (urgh).  
  
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He tapped the wall beside them with his wand, and an archway opened just like in Diagon Alley. He stood up and helped Judith up. "Coming?"   
  
They stepped through, and the archway closed behind them. Evidently, the wizarding side of Something-Norton (she really ought to try and remember the name of the place) was nothing like the Muggle side. The honey-coloured Cotswold stone was replaced by tall Georgian townhouses painted white or occasionally yellow. Further down the cobbled street Judith could see a lot of shops, and several pubs and nightclubs, but Malfoy led her down a side street. Here, the houses were the same as before but painted a rainbow of different colours.   
  
"I've just realised I don't know your name," Malfoy said as they walked.  
  
"Judith Davis."  
  
"Draco Malfoy, but you already knew that. Call me Draco."  
  
He stopped outside a house painted dark purple, between a garish red on the left and lime green on the right. There was no sign of anyone in, but there was a note on the door.   
  
"'Gone down to the Wand to meet the others. Love R, H and H,'" Draco read. "Bugger. I'll have to tell everyone now."  
  
They carried on past more bright houses and into the very much alive part they had missed earlier. Draco led Judith to a smallish pub called the Broken Wand on the corner, and they went in.   
  
The Broken Wand was very much like a Muggle pub, except for the game of Exploding Snap being played in one corner, the large advertisement for Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans on one wall, and of course the robes its patrons were wearing. Judith felt very out of place in her jeans and T-shirt as several people glanced curiously at her.  
  
Draco ordered two Butterbeers, gave one to Judith, and led them to seven people propping up the far end of the bar.  
  
"Draco!" a shortish man with messy black hair covering his forehead jumped up and hugged the blond man, nearly sending his glasses flying. "Where were you?"  
  
"I ran into someone I didn't particularly want to meet," Draco replied with astounding coolness.  
  
Harry - who else could it be? - looked enquiringly at Judith.   
  
"No, not Judith. She's the reason I'm here now. I had an almost fatal meeting with our dear friend Crabbe."  
  
Harry and the others stopped looking happy and grew shocked and anxious expressions. The shorter of the two redheads quickly pulled up two stools and Draco and Judith sat down.  
  
"What happened?" someone asked in an Irish accent.  
  
"I was on my way here from a Muggle gig, and Crabbe Apparated by the wall. He basically told me that if I didn't go and serve Voldemort, he'd kill me." Everyone but Harry flinched and glared wearily at him when he said 'Voldemort', as if saying it was a habit of his.  
  
"Go on," Harry said.  
  
Draco described what had happened, finishing with "And Judith's a Muggle. She had nothing to defend herself with at all."  
  
Everyone stared at Judith. "I did so. I had my unerring wit and astoundingly good looks," she protested ironically, but weakly, realising again what an idiot she had been.  
  
"Thank you," Harry said after a moment. He grabbed Draco again and killed him fiercely.  
  
"Um," said Judith. "There was another reason Draco brought me here." She took a large gulp of Butterbeer as Harry and Draco parted so Harry could listen too. "I have a pretty good idea of who you all are, and of what's going on with Voldemort, and about your world in general. And I know I'm a Muggle, and what that is."  
  
"How?" the girl who was probably Hermione asked.  
  
"There's a Muggle author called J.K.Rowling," she began.  
  
"And she's written a load of books about us. Well, about Harry, at Hogwarts. Up til fourth year," Draco continued, unable to contain himself.   
  
"Who are we all, then?" Hermione asked.  
  
"You're Hermione, Draco is Draco, with Harry, Ron," the shorter redhead, "Seamus," the one with the Irish accent, "Dean," the hugely tall man attached to Seamus, "Neville," the chubby one who had flinched most at the mention of Voldemort, "Percy," the one attached to Neville.  
  
Everyone stared some more. "Exactly right," Hermione said. "Have you got one of these books with you?"  
  
"No - yes, actually," Judith said, remembering the book in her bag. She fished out Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and handed it to Hermione.  
  
Hermione flicked through it silently, then passed it to Harry. "There's going to be one for each school year?" she asked.  
  
"Yep," Judith replied.  
  
"The seventh book should be amusing," Draco said, grinning wickedly. "These are childrens' books."  
  
Seamus laughed loudly and pinched Dean's rear end.  
  
"Leave my arse alone!" Dean protested, but he was smiling too.  
  
"This is...weird," Harry said eventually.   
  
"Relax," Judith said airily. "Like he said, they're only children's books. It's not like there's any embarassing details. Well, apart from Harry's Cho Chang obsession..."  
  
Harry moaned with embarassment and buried his face in the crook of Draco's neck and shoulder, while everyone laughed goodnaturedly at him.  
  
They did relax, surprisingly well for people who had just found out they were the subject of a series of books about their school days. They drank their butterbeers and chatted to each other and Judith, and Judith found it quite easy to forget who they were and why she was there with them.  
  
By closing time, Hermione was the only one anywhere near sober. Everyone else took this as a normal occurence and relied on her to succesfully put the key in the lock of the dark purple house and let them all in.   
  
Judith collapsed on a sofa, vaguely noticing that her head was on Dean's shoulder and Seamus was snoring in her other ear before falling asleep herself.  
  
*  
  
Judith woke to a bright flash of light that penetrated right to the back of her head through her closed eyelids, and the mother, father and great-auntie of all hangovers.   
  
"Wha..?" she asked blearily, squinting around her. Dean and Seamus on either side of her were making similar noises of confusion. Her eyes cleared and she could see Hermione standing in front of the sofa holding a camera and grinning maliciously.   
  
"Say cheese," she said, a little belatedly.  
  
The camera turned out to be some sort of wizardly Polaroid. The picture shot out, and Hermione put it on the coffee table and took another one while she waited for the first to clear.  
  
Judith was fascinated, never having seen herself in a moving photo before, and managed to overcome her hangover enough to look at it. The first one wasn't particularly exciting, because all they were doing was sleeping, but the second one showed them glaring painfully at the camera, Seamus shaking his fist and Dean holding his head in his hands.   
  
Hermione threw them a bottle labelled 'Minnie Bell's Ultimate Hangover Cure'. Seamus caught it, swallowed a tablet and passed it on to Judith. She peered at it blearily, and took one, hoping it wouldn't have adverse effects on a Muggle.  
  
As she swallowed it, everything cleared up and the little people in her head stopped doing percussion practice. She passed the bottle on to Dean, who took one too and then threw it back to Hermione.   
  
"I've been thinking," Hermione began, looking slightly more serious.   
  
"Did it hurt?" Seamus asked.  
  
"No, it gets better with practice, but I suppose you won't have discovered that," Hermione replied, sitting down. "Crabbe ought to have turned around and killed you the minute he heard your voice. He's too stupid not to have done."  
  
"That's a nice thought," Judith said, shuddering. "Maybe he grew a few extra braincells or something."  
  
"I doubt it," Hermione said. "I was thinking more along the lines of you doing some kind of magic without realising it."  
  
"I doubt that more," Judith said. "I'm a Muggle. If I wasn't, why didn't I get a Hogwarts letter?"  
  
"I have no idea," Hermione admitted. "I left most of my books at Hogwarts, but I do remember reading something about people who can do magic without wands and who don't get found out about to go to a wizarding school."  
  
"I still doubt it," Judith said. "I've never done anything before."  
  
"Well, it's worth mentioning to Dumbledore when we go to see him," Hermione said.  
  
"We?"  
  
"We have to go and tell him about the books," Hermione explained patiently. "You're our Muggle expert now."  
  
"Oh," Judith said.  
  
"What about us?" Seamus asked.  
  
"You can come too," Hermione said. "It's not as if you've got anything useful to do, is it?"  
  
"Of course we do, just not today. Fred and George gave us the fortnight off, starting yesterday," Dean said.  
  
"Like I said, nothing useful. What kind of job is selling practical jokes?"  
  
"One that pays a lot," said Dean. "Besides, it's only until we get signed."  
  
"Signed?" Judith asked.  
  
"To a record label. We're a band," Seamus said.   
  
"What do you play?"  
  
"Indie. There's a Muggle band called the Kings of Convenience that Draco reckons we're just like."  
  
"I've heard of them," Judith said. "Have you got a tape I can listen to?"  
  
"Later," Hermione interrupted. "We're going soon. Breakfast."  
  
Breakfast was cornflakes. Judith found she was slightly disappointed at their normality, until she read the packet and found that the free toy was a Sneakoscope.   
  
After breakfast, Hermione produced a Portkey which would take all eight of them to Hogwarts.  
  



	3. In which Judith goes to Hogwarts

Blah blah. The characters etc. belong to J.K.Rowling and I am getting nothing out of this story except a headache and personal enjoyment (although these aren't connected...). Climbing Up The Walls is a title of a Radiohead song, and Judith is a character of my own invention. Warning: here be slash implications. Blahblah.  
  
Ta very much Sunshineglow, and to everyone else, where have you gone? Surely I'm not so bad I don't deserve a review? Argargarg...  
  
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All nine of them held on to the Portkey, and Judith felt an odd jerk in her stomach almost instantly. She blinked, and missed the change.   
  
When she opened her eyes, she was in a tiny office lined from floor to ceiling with books. The office was not designed for nine, and, despite being hardly able to breathe, Judith was amused to see Ron actually standing on the desk with his head and shoulders hunched over where he reached the ceiling because there was no room for him on the floor.   
  
"Ron, you're standing on someone's essay!" Hermione protested anxiously. "Get down!"  
  
"I can't," Ron pointed out reasonably.  
  
Hermione sighed, and somehow managed to squeeze open the door. She promptly fell through into the corridor outside along with Neville and Seamus. Judith took a relieved breath, and looked around some more. The now open door had a small sign proclaiming 'Professor Granger, Arithmancy' on it, and the books all had titles like 'Pythagoras' Contribution to Arithmancy' and 'The Arithmancers of Ancient Egypt'.  
  
"Come on," said Hermione, and those who were still in the office wandered slowly out. Hermione led them down stone corridors and up and down stairs, speaking passwords every so often. Eventually, they stood in front of a door that seemed to be Dumbledore's office.  
  
Hermione knocked twice. "Come in!" a friendly voice shouted from inside.  
  
She opened the door and everyone filed in. Dumbledore raised a surprised eyebrow at the number of people Hermione had brought, but didn't comment on it.  
  
"What can I do for you, Professor Granger...everyone? I'm afraid I don't know this young lady," he added apologetically.  
  
"This is Judith Davis," Draco said. "She saved my life yesterday."  
  
"Oh dear," said Dumbledore. "I hoped this was just a social visit, but I see it's more serious. What happened?"  
  
"Crabbe," Draco said shortly, and explained what Judith had done.  
  
Dumbledore raised both eyebrows. "That was brave of you, Judith," he said in surprise. "I'm impressed, but why?"  
  
"I don't know...would sheer niceness be a good enough reason?"  
  
Dumbledore smiled. "You'd make a good Gryffindor," he said.  
  
"Don't insult her," Draco protested in mock annoyance.  
  
"What I'm worried about," Dumbledore continued, and Judith would have thought he hadn't heard Draco's comment if she hadn't seen the twinkle in his eye, "is these books. More to the point, how this person managed to convincingly write four years of Harry's life from his point of view without him knowing."  
  
"Me too," said Harry. "But what I'm more worried about is someone from the wizarding world getting hold of the later books, when they're written. If Voldemort gets hold of some of the stuff we discovered in my seventh year..."  
  
"Quite," said Dumbledore. "Are these books popular with Muggles, Judith?"  
  
"Very," she replied. "In this country at least, everyone knows what you mean when you mention Harry Potter, even if it's just to laugh at us for reading childrens' books."  
  
"Why haven't any wizards noticed?" Dean asked. "Surely people would notice first years from Muggle families knowing more than they ought to?"  
  
"Because even if they did, people would just write it off as Harry's fame and fortune getting back to Muggles via other Muggle-born wizards," Percy replied. "Pride. That's why I left the Ministry."  
  
"Bill's not like that," Ron protested.  
  
"I left before he was elected, Ron," Percy reminded him gently. "But it's still like that. Bill would take it seriously, but he's unlikely to find out because they'll all think it's not worth telling him."  
  
"We should go and see him, then," Ron said.  
  
"I have a better idea," said Dumbledore. "We should stay here for lunch, and meet Bill when he comes to see me today."  
  
"Oh, goodness! I've got the Ravenclaw third years in two minutes," said Hermione suddenly, staring at the clock on Dumbledore's desk in horror. "Sorry..." her voice drifted back as she dashed out of the room.  
  
  
They had three hours to kill until Bill was due to arrive, so Ron, Seamus and Dean decided to give Judith a guided tour of the school while Neville insisted on going with Percy to see Professor Sprout and Harry and Draco wandered down to the Quidditch pitch.  
  
Ron, Seamus and Dean were in surprisingly high spirits for such an early time of morning. Most of the lessons in the school were subjected to the four of them 'accidentally' wandering into the classrooms and annoying the teachers, except one, where Ron heard Hermione's voice and stopped Seamus from opening the door.  
  
"No, she won't speak to me for weeks," he warned, and led them quietly away.  
  
Most of the teacher just looked at them in annoyance, until they reached the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, where a tall man with black hair and a shorter, frailer-looking man with light brown hair who had to be Sirius Black and Remus Lupin stopped their demonstration on a Boggart and both grinned.   
  
"Harry here?" Sirius asked,  
  
"Everyone," Seamus replied, grinning back.  
  
"We'll be seeing you later, then," Remus said, looking amused.  
  
"Indeed," said Seamus, and Judith wasn't as surprised as she would have thought she would have been at the look that passed between them that implied something more than friendship.  
  
"Oy," Dean said, poking Seamus in the back. "Aren't I invited?"  
  
Remus merely raised an eyebrow. "We'll see," said Sirius expansively, and turned back to the bemused first years. Ron rolled his eyes at Judith as he closed the door behind them.  
  
The other most interesting visit was to a certain classroom in the dungeons.  
  
"Oh, so sorry, Professor Snape," Ron said with mock over-sincerity. "Our apologies, dear second years, for disturbing your favourite lesson."  
  
There followed much nervous tittering from the class, amused but not quite daring to laugh out loud.  
  
"What do you want, Weasley?" Snape asked, looking very annoyed. "Oh, I see, brought Thomas and Finnegan too, have you?"  
  
"Merely showing Judith around our favourite part of the school," Dean said.   
  
Judith, meanwhile, had just finished ogling Snape and was staring in surprise at a short, dark-haired girl who was most definetely her cousin, Helen. Helen was staring in equal amazement back, and waved shyly. Judith grinned and waved back. "Talk later," she mouthed.  
  
"Davis, don't gawp," Snape snapped at her. Judith turned an angry glare on him, and at the same time, an empty bottle toppled off a high shelf and broke heavily on Snape's head.  
  
"Be seeing ya, Professor Snape," Seamus said, and quickly shut the door. All four of them hurried along the corridor outside, and burst into uncontrollable laughter as soon as they judged they were out of earshot.   
  
Eventually, they calmed down, and Seamus insisted they visit the Quidditch pitch.   
  
"Why is it the worst ones are always the good looking ones?" Judith heard Dean mutter to Seamus before Ron spoke to her.  
  
"I think Hermione's right," Ron said to her. "That bottle was really steady until he snapped at that girl. Who was she, by the way?"  
  
"My cousin. I didn't know she came here, so we were both surprised," Judith explained. "I'd like not to believe you, but Hermione's nearly always right, isn't she?"  
  
"Usually," said Ron. "I didn't believe her 'til just then, though."  
  
They met Draco and Harry at the Quidditch pitch, flying around on some old Cleansweeps and laughing at each other. It was about lunchtime when they arrived there, so they collected Percy and Neville from a greenhouse and made their way to the Great Hall.  
  
Bill Weasley, Minister for Magic, was already sitting at the staff table between Dumbledore and a row of empty seats. Judith found herself sitting somewhere in the middle of the empty seats, noticing Ron next to his oldest brother at one end, and Seamus next to Sirius at the other end. As pupils began to arrive in the room, there were mutters and glances as they recognised not only the Minister for Magic, but Harry Potter as well, and is that Professor Granger's boyfriend, and knowing looks from some of the older pupils at Seamus, Dean, Sirius and Remus. Judith smiled and waved to Helen, accidentally earning her cousin instant fame.  
  
There was no mention of the incident with Crabbe or the books during lunch. Judith was grateful, as it gave her a change to watch everyone else. Harry and Draco were exchanging glares with Snape, while Seamus had an odd look on his face that could well have been related to the fact that Sirius only had one hand visible above the table. At various points during the meal, four different Seekers came up to talk to Harry. Dean also had a visitor, who he loudly and surprisedly proclaimed to be a fan of their band ("Seamus, look, we've got a fan! Someone's heard of us!""), and autographed a record cover in astonishment. Near the end of the meal, Helen shyly wandered up to Judith.   
  
"I didn't know you came here," Judith told her.  
  
"I know you didn't. I didn't know you knew this place existed," Helen replied. You didn't come here, did you?"  
  
"Nope," Judith replied. "I walked into Draco Malfoy the other day though, and I kind of had everything jump on me at once. It's a long story."  
  
"You'll have to tell me sometime," Helen said. "When all you walked into Potions, we nearly died laughing."  
  
Helen drifted off with her friends, and Judith made a mental note to investigate that branch of the family more closely when (if?) things got back to normal. Soon after, Dumbledore led them up to his office, which had somehow grown since that morning.  
  
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That's it for the moment, dear reader (assuming you haven't deserted me). I make no apologies for Snape-worship contained herein...  
  
I'm going on holiday (Skye) in a couple of days, so the next chapter might be even longer in coming, but it will, trust me :o). Of course, the number of reviews I have when I get back will encourage me to write quicker... (bribery? I have no idea what you're talking about.)  



	4. In which Judith and Snape encounter a De...

Still more thanks and chocolate frogs to Sunshineglow for reading where everyone else has given up :o). I'm afraid I have no control over Sirius and Seamus. What they choose to do under the table during lunch seems to be up to them... I'll try having a word with them if it bothers you that much, but from past experience I have no control over my own characters, let alone J. K. Rowling's.  
  
I have just realised I used to know someone called Helen Davis...Helen, if you're reading this, it's not meant to be you (though if you did end up a Hogwarts after the Grange, feel free to tell me ;o) ). Heh, bet you can't guess who I am, Helen...  
  
This is, in case you haven't noticed, somewhat reminiscent of a Mary Sue...it's an accidental result of wondering what would happen if the wizards found out about the books. But Snape is my favourite character, and I cannot stand proper Mary Sues, so think of this as an alternative, if you will.  
  
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Half the teachers appeared to be needed at the meeting, and expanded though Dumbledore's office was, there was still very little room. Judith, one of the last through the door, had to sit curled up on a flowery armchair wedged into one corner because there was no space on the floor for her feet.   
  
"Couldn't we have used the staffroom?" Snape demanded in annoyance from a similar armchair right next to Judith.  
  
"Security," Dumbledore said. "We most certainly don't want anyone outside of this room to hear this conversation."  
  
Judith looked at Snape. He had also been forced to put his feet up on his chair, and looked highly annoyed at having to do so. As Judith watched, trying not to laugh, he turned his head slightly and noticed her through strands of long black hair. He looked younger than she had imagined him from the books, and even more so when he unexpectedly gave her what seemed to be a wry grin.   
  
He looked as if he was about to say something when Dumbledore loudly cleared his throat.   
  
"Yesterday evening, an attack was made on Draco Malfoy by Crabbe on behalf of Voldemort. However, that isn't the point of this meeting. He would have been killed if not for Judith Davis, sitting in the corner over there, who stepped in when Crabbe's back was turned and pretended she had a wand, scaring him into Apparating away before he did any harm. This is even braver when you realise that Judith is a Muggle, and had nothing to protect her from him." Here everyone in the room turned round and looked at her in astonishment, and there were congratulatory murmurs in her direction. Those who could reach, including Snape, shook her hand. "Now we come to the purpose of this meeting. The reason Judith knew exactly what was going on, and what to do, and even who the people involved were, was because she had read the existing part of an extremely popular children's fantasy series written by a Muggle author about Harry Potter."  
  
Dumbledore held up the book Judith had had in her bag for everyone to see. "This raises three points of concern," he continued over the shocked and disbelieving murmurs. "Firstly, how did this J. K. Rowling find out about Harry, or indeed anything to do with the wizarding world? Secondly, how have these books escaped notice for the past four years? And thirdly, what happens when the author gets to Harry's later years and the secrets discovered then? If Voldemort were to find out about them, we would have very little defence against him when he launches his main attack."  
  
There was a shocked silence, then people started talking loudly. Snape leaned over towards Judith.  
  
"Just how popular are these books?"  
  
"Well, just about everyone's heard of them, and I'd say at least half of those have read at least part of one of the books. There's a film coming out soon as well, so then even more people will have heard about it."  
  
Snape looked puzzled. "I still can't see how it hasn't come to anyone's attention, then," he said. "Surely the people from Muggle families would have heard of them..."  
  
"My cousin has," Judith said. "Helen Davis, the one you shouted at."  
  
Snape leant back in his chair, looking thoughtful.  
  
Dumbledore cleared his throat again, almost certainly with help from an amplification spell. "Does anyone have anything to say?"  
  
A tall, severe lady stood up.  
  
"Minerva," Dumbledore acknowledged her.  
  
"I recommend the Ministry finds this woman and checks if she really is a Muggle," Professor McGonnagal said.  
  
"Agreed," said Bill. "Albus, may I borrow your owl?"  
  
"Certainly."   
  
Bill scribbled something on a piece of parchment and attached it to the proffered owl's leg. The owl promptly flew out of the window. Judith watched it fly for a while, until it disappeared.   
  
"He's trained to Apparate wherever possible," Dumbledore explained to the people with eyebrows raised.   
  
No one else seemed to have anything constructive to say, so Dumbledore ended the meeting, asking Judith, Snape and Bill to stay behind.  
  
"Judith, do you want to go home? We can carry on without you from here, although it would be nice to have you stay to help," he said kindly.  
  
"I need to go back to where I was staying before they report me missing, but I could come back after that," Judith said. "I should be working, but I can always make up a few white lies about the amount I managed to get done. I'm researching my family history, so it should be easy enough to lie about for a couple of weeks."  
  
"I'm a little worried about the Death Eaters. I think they may be able to get a hold on you from when you went through the wall with Draco and catch up with you while you're seeing to business, so would you mind if I sent someone with you?"  
  
"Um...I suppose not," said Judith. "The thought of vengeful Death Eaters following me around isn't particularly pleasant, to be honest."  
  
"They'll be following you around for certain," Snape broke in. "It's letting them catch up with you that you need to avoid."  
  
"Which is why I'd like you to go with Judith," Dumbledore said. "You haven't got any more lessons until next term now, have you?"  
  
"No, I haven't," he began.  
  
"Excellent," said Dumbledore, beaming. "And you can help Judith out with some of this research while you're at it. We wouldn't want her to have to lie too much, would we, Severus?"  
  
Snape's expression at this was unreadable.  
  
"Oh, I really don't need to do any more research," Judith said hastily. "The person who employed me is far too batty to notice me lying."  
  
"I take that back about you making a good Gryffindor, Judith," said Dumbledore. "You seem very much like a Slytherin."  
  
Snape smiled oddly. "Oh, I don't know about that," he said. "You'll have to prove yourself while we're busy avoiding Death Eaters." This seemed to be his agreement to Dumbledore's suggestion.   
  
The old wizard turned to Bill Weasley, who was looking amused. "Bill, I think you need some better staff," he said. "People who will bother to inform you of what's going on in the Muggle world."  
  
"I did order the Muggle newspapers," Bill said, "but then I found I had no time to read them. You're probably right."  
  
"Yes, I ran out of time myself a couple of years ago. May I suggest Judith?"  
  
"What?" Judith asked in astonishment.  
  
"Oh, not as a major job, of course," Dumbledore said. "Just as someone with first hand experience of the Muggle world who can let Bill know if anything important happens. Would you mind?"  
  
"I suppose I could cope," said Judith. "Just that?"  
  
"Bill?"  
  
"It would be hugely helpful," said Bill. "There aren't really any other Muggles who would know what was important without their wizard relatives telling them, and we've seen from this how misplaced a lot of people's sense of importance is."  
  
"Alright, then," she agreed. She looked at her watch. "Um, do you mind if we go now?" she asked. "I told the people at the B and B I'd be out by today, and they might start chucking my stuff out."  
  
"Do you happen to have a portkey for wherever it is Judith's staying?" Snape asked Dumbledore.  
  
"Where Professor Granger lives...Chipping Norton, I believe," Dumbledore said, handing Snape a small metal tag with the initials H.G. carved in it.  
  
Judith was relieved someone knew what the stupid place was called...she couldn't have gone on calling it Something Norton in front of everyone.  
  
Snape fetched out a wand from his robes and pointed it at himself, muttering something Judith couldn't make out. Suddenly he was wearing black jeans, a black t-shirt, a black leather jacket and thick black boots with lots of buckles on.  
  
They took hold of the portkey, there was a brief jolt, and they were standing in the road with the rainbow houses. Snape made a face.  
  
"A little garish, don't you think? Which one's Granger's?"  
  
"The purple one."  
  
"At least it's not the lime green one, at any rate. Do you happen to know the way to the Muggle part of town?"  
  
Judith led him to the wall, which he opened, and into the alley.   
  
"This where you met Crabbe?"  
  
Judith nodded.   
  
"Never did like the boy. No brain."  
  
"I noticed. It was a bit odd, seeing someone I'd only heard about as one of Draco's personal goons trying to kill him."  
  
"They only followed Draco because their fathers followed Lucius Malfoy," Snape said. "I've never liked Lucius either."  
  
"I think I can understand that," Judith agreed as they started walking. "Um...do you mind me asking why you became a Death Eater?"  
  
Snape was silent for a moment. Judith began to worry that she had mortally offended him, but then he spoke. "To be honest, I don't know. It just seemed like the thing to do, what with being a Slytherin and not liking most of the people involved in fighting him. Besides, I've always felt drawn to the dark side of life."  
  
"So what made you change your mind?"  
  
"Dark side was too dark. I was fine with the secret rituals and running all over the country scaring people, but the torturing and killing innocent people was too far, once I'd seen it actually happen. I was far too idealistic. Then they caught Dumbledore, and I realised he was a perfectly reasonable human being, and the Dark Lord wasn't, so I used some potions on the Death Eaters guarding him and got him out. And made them forget they had ever caught him, which was my stroke of genius."  
  
"Nice one..."  
  
They reached the B&B. Judith anxiously rang the doorbell.  
  
"I'm sorry I didn't turn up, but something unavoidable came up," she explained to the landlady.  
  
"That's fine," said the landlady, seeing Snape, coming to the obvious, wrong conclusion, and smiling a little. "You young people..." She passed Judith her bag and Judith paid thankfully.  
  
"Um," she said, checking her pockets. "Car key. Ah, got it." She led Snape to a small car park around the back of the B&B, where her black Beetle awaited. She chucked her bag in the boot and turned to face a shifty looking Snape.  
  
"Now what?" she asked him.   
  
"Get in the car and drive like hell," he said, dark eyes flashing. "The longer we stay in one place, the quicker they catch up with us. I can feel a tracking spell looking for you." Judith climbed into the driving seat as Snape leapt into the car next to her.   
  
"Anywhere in particular?"  
  
"Somewhere with lots of people."  
  
"You're sitting on a road map," she said, reversing out of the cramped car park. "Find the page with Chipping Norton on, then find the nearest place with the biggest black letters for a place name. Can you read maps?"  
  
She utterly failed to notice the crushing look he sent at her as he answered. "Of course. There's Banbury, or there's Oxford, which is bigger but further."  
  
"Which do you think?"  
  
"Does anyone know you in either of these places?"  
  
"Not that I know of, but I was in Banbury last week."  
  
"Oxford, then. If someone recognises you, they can use that."  
  
"Right. Oxford." Judith somehow managed to find the way out of the one-way system onto the right road, and pushed the poor Beetle right to its limit.  
  
They sat in strained silence for the journey, except for a few moments when Snape took out his wand and muttered something designed to make them inconspicuous. At a set of traffic lights near the outskirts of Oxford, Judith was surprised to notice her hands were shaking.  
  
"Calm down," Snape told her. "You're sending out very strong signals to anyone looking for you while you're in this state. Let your mind wander."  
  
"I can't," Judith said, after trying.  
  
"Tell me about the last book you read."  
  
"No good. It was the one with the Triwizard Tournament."  
  
"Oh. Um...music. Talk to me about what music you like."  
  
"Jazz, mostly. Tyrone Brown's String Sextet."  
  
"Haven't heard of them. I do like jazz, though. Tell me."  
  
Judith lapsed into a rambling description of it, and managed to forget about the Death Eaters until they were in the centre of Oxford. She parked the car in the multi-storey just as Snape began to mutter more frantically and wave his wand about. He stopped suddenly, his face drained of colour.  
  
"They've got us. I felt it take," he said. "I might be able to transfer it to the car..." He muttered some more. "I think I put it on the car, but it won't fool them for long. Come on, we need to be where lots of other people are, to confuse them."  
  
They started walking quickly towards the stairs, but their nerves broke at exactly the same time and they started to run. Judith half thought she heard footsteps behind them, but they could have been echoes.  
  
They ran across a glass-covered bridge and into a brightly-lit shopping centre. There seemed to be a lot of people in a sports shop, so they slowed to a walk and slipped in.  
  
"Don't look behind us, else they'll see your face and then we're in deeper shit," Snape whispered in her ear. I'm going to change our appearance as soon as we get out of sight. Don't panic."  
  
Snape led her deeper into a crowd surrounding some kind of sports shoe demonstration, and Judith found herself with long, brown hair instead of her short red ponytail. She was wearing blue jeans and a sport-brand t-shirt like the ones on a nearby rack. Snape was dressed similarly, and his hair was short and dark blond. He made a face.  
  
"Awful, I know. Pretend we're a couple. Don't look around, and run when I say."  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
"The wizard quarter, so we can get a Portkey off a friend of Dumbledore's. But we've got to lose them first, else we'll get the friend in trouble too."  
  
They strolled out of the shop, holding hands, and pretended an interest in various shop windows as they wandered purposefully out of the shopping centre.  
  
"I'm hoping they don't know Oxford. I do, so we might have an advantage," Snape said, and proceeded to lead Judith in and out of various shops and along little side streets, changing their appearance every few minutes. They moved down a wide open street as part of a group of foreign tourists, and slipped into a quiet bookshop.  
  
"We may have lost them, but a few rounds of Blackwell's ought to make sure," he said. At first, Judith couldn't see what he meant - the bookshop wasn't that big, and she could see practically all of it from the doorway, but then Snape led her down some stairs she hadn't noticed and into a vast, multi-levelled room full of books.  
  
On the wall was a large Harry Potter poster. Judith prodded Snape in the back as he attempted to walk straight past it. "There," she said.  
  
He frowned. "There's a very strong inconspicuousness charm on that," he said. "Something gives me the impression that this Rowling woman isn't totally Muggle, else I would have seen that straight away. No wonder we hadn't noticed."  
  
They wandered aimlessly down aisles of high shelving. Judith began to think they were safe until someone cleared their throat unpleasantly behind them and Snape pushed her into an alcove and swung around to face the Death Eater.   
  
"My, won't the Master be pleased," said an unpleasant, slimy voice. "The interfering Muggle bitch and Severus Snape. Two in one, you might say."  
  
"Lucius Malfoy," Snape greeted him, sounding equally unpleasant. "I'm insulted. Are you the best he thought it worth sending?"  
  
"Oh, you've got it all wrong, Severus. I am the best, as I made clear to you twenty years ago."  
  
"No wonder he recruited me, then, lacking in quality like that. He's not giving the poor girl much of an impression, first Crabbe, then you," Severus sneered.  
  
"What do I care what Muggle scum thinks - " Lucius began.  
  
"Avada Kedavra," Snape hissed, interrupting the Death Eater mid-flow. There was a green flash and a thump as Malfoy's lifeless body dropped to the floor. "Whoops," said Snape quietly. "However did that happen?" He looked at his wand in mock amazement.   
  
Judith stepped out of the alcove and surveyed the body. "Nice one," she said. "Unchivalrous, interrupting his waffle like that, but I think that gets you an extra few points for style." She was surprised to find she meant it.  
  
"I've been wanting to do that for years," Snape said, looking around. Several people had hurried over to investigate the green light and were staring in shock from the body to Snape's wand, which was now engaged in the act of turning the two back to their original clothes.  
  
A young man in a 'Quidditch' t-shirt seemed to know what was going on and looked at Snape and Judith in shocked realisation.  
  
"Time to go, I think," Snape murmured. They left the shop quietly before people could get over their shock enough to do anything.   
  
"Now where?" Judith wondered.  
  
"The Lamb and Flag Passage," Snape replied. "There's a certain stone in the wall my wand ought to become aquainted with."   
  
**************************  
  
Bah. Tis all my fault for going to Oxford, methinks. I never meant to cause murder in Blackwell's...honest...  
Oh, and *technically* they wouldn't have an HP poster in that bit of Blackwells, but I'm exercising my artistic licence...  
  
Episode 5 in the ongoing saga of Judith in Wizardland coming soon...it *is* the summer holidays, and I have coursework to avoid... 


	5. In which some unexpected visitors arrive

Ta to Sunshineglow and Rosmerta, and anyone else who is reading but eevilly not reviewing... 

Am sadly making no money out of this. I have merely borrowed J.K.Rowling's characters for my own amusement, although I am starting to consider running off with Severus Snape when I've finished the story... 

This story did contain slashiness, but I have no idea where that went... 

Heh...this took a bit longer than I expected, what with a huge block followed by madly writing some AU random but fun snippets followed by vast reams of coursework to write... 

********************************** 

The Lamb and Flag Passage was a surprisingly quiet and pleasant-looking alley leading back from a pub on St. Giles. About halfway down, there was an old tree, which Snape reached around in order to tap a stone in the wall with his wand. An archway opened, and Snape and Judith stepped through. 

The wizarding quarter was sleepier than the Muggle centre of Oxford, and there appeared to be no one about. Leafy shadows played over the worn cobbles, and the only noise was the low murmur of voices from a radio on someone's windowsill. Snape seemed a lot less on edge here, although that could have been contendedness at having finally got rid of Lucius Malfoy. 

The house Snape went straight to was old, and looked as if it was falling apart. However, when he knocked on the door it was opened almost immediately by an old man who appeared to recognise Snape. 

"Ah, Severus. And this must be Judith. Do come in." 

They followed him into a gloomy interior and sat down on rickety old chairs. 

"Do you have the Portkey?" Snape asked. 

"Yes, but you're not having it," the old man replied serenely. 

"This is hardly time to be playing games, Mortimer," Snape said. "I just killed Lucius Malfoy. Voldemort's really not going to be happy with me now." 

The old man - Mortimer - raised an eyebrow. "Really, Severus, I wish you wouldn't be so impatient. I was about to say that I've just received new instructions from Albus, which say where you need to go next." 

"Can I see them, or is that getting to the point a little too quickly?" 

Mortimer handed over a piece of parchment. "Severus and Judith to find Rowling and bring her back to Hogwarts." 

"Manchester?" Judith wondered. "Why would she be there?" 

"I wondered that myself," Mortimer said. "So I did some research. She's on a signing tour, and will be at a bookshop in Manchester tommorrow." 

"So what do we do? Queue up with the rest and then ask her nicely to come back to Hogwarts with us?" 

"Judith, we're wizards. We do magic. We'll find a way, even if it is just a Stunning spell on the rest of the shop," Snape said. 

Mortimer rolled his eyes. "Never mind, Severus, you've still got a day to come up with a decent plan." 

Snape glared. Mortimer winced slightly. Judith laughed. The glare changed direction. Judith still laughed. 

"Congratulations, you just withstood a full-blast Snape-glare," Mortimer said, mildly impressed. 

"Time to go," Snape said, standing up abruptly. "Give us the Manchester Portkey, Mortimer." 

"Don't have it," Mortimer replied. "The last person to use it hasn't brought it back yet. You'll have to walk." 

"I have a car," Judith pointed out quickly. The thought of walking all the way to Manchester by tomorrow was a deeply disturbing one. 

"With Death Eater tracking spells stuck all over it," Snape pointed out. "We can catch a train or something." 

"What, and leave my poor little car to rot? I think not, Snape," Judith replied. "We'll just have to move the tracking spells onto something else." 

Snape frowned. "I'll give it a go," he said doubtfully, "but I'm not promising anything. You might as well stop calling me Snape, by the way. My name is Severus." 

* * * 

As she watched Severus muttering spells over her car, Judith could see the tracking spells, green, stringy and unmoving. This was slightly alarming - she was sure spells were meant to be invisible. She asked him if they were. 

"They aren't something you can see," he replied. "Look, this is no good, Judith. We'll have to get a train." 

Judith frowned. Of course it was no good. Severus' spells were doing the wrong kind of thing for the tracking spells. She reached out her right hand and touched one of them. It felt slightly tingly. She pried part of one off the car, and then used that to pull the rest of the green stringy stuff off. It came off easily, like plasticine. 

Severus started. "What the hell are you doing?" 

"Taking the spells off," Judith said, sticking it to a concrete pillar. She peeled the rest of them off, and looked at the pillar. "Now they'll go searching after a multi-storey car park," she said. "Shall we go now?" 

Severus frowned, moving his wand over the car with raised eyebrows. "They've gone. What did you do?" 

"Peeled them off." 

"That's impossible. Well, it ought to be, anyway. The nature of spells means there isn't anything to show up, apparently." He frowned. "I'll ask Minerva as soon as we've finished with all this." 

* * * 

"Judith! Do you have any idea how to drive this thing?" Severus demanded as Judith changed lanes and nearly crashed into a lorry for what was about the millionth time. 

"Calm down, Sev, I know exactly what I'm doing," she'd assured him patronisingly. 

"Do NOT call me Sev, and don't patronise me, you stupid little girl!" he roared in return. 

"Don't you think you might be overreacting?" 

"Don't you think you ought to be a bit more polite?" 

"Oh, shut up, you miserable old git." 

"Ignorant Muggle." 

"Sad bastard." 

"Fuckwit." 

"Don't swear at me, you pile of rotting shite." 

The argument continued in this way, and Judith realised she was enjoying it. She wondered what she would have said a couple of days ago if someone had told her she'd soon be driving up the motorway arguing with Severus Snape. 

In the silence after they ran out of insults, there was a loud bang and two someones Apparated into the back seat. Severus swung around with his wand in his hand, then sagged and turned back around. Judith glanced in the mirror and caught a glimpse of two identical redheads before she nearly crashed into the car in front. 

"Fuck," they said vehemently. "How the fuck do you expect anyone to Apparate into here when you're driving like that?" 

"The idea was that no one did," Severus replied dryly. "Whatever possessed you two to try?" 

"Professor Snape!" one of them exclaimed. "How good to see you again!" 

Severus glared straight ahead. "Why thank you, Mr Weasley. I'm delighted to see you too." 

"Which of you is Fred and which is George?" Judith asked. 

"You know who we are?" the twin who hadn't spoken before asked. 

"How many sets of Weasley twins are there?" she replied. "I've read the books - you do know about the books, don't you?" 

"Of course," one said, sounding offended. "We know everything." 

Severus raised an eyebrow. "How nice to know. You'll be here to tell us everything we need to know about the Rowling woman, then?" 

"Naturally, we'd love to-" one started. 

"But it would ruin the entire fabric of reality if we didn't let you find out for yourselves," the other finished. "I'm Fred, that's George, by the way." 

George wriggled a bit. "Sure this car's small enough?" 

"I'm sorry, I'd have bought a bigger one if I knew random Weasleys were going to Apparate into the back of it," Judith replied. "It's only meant for one, the poor thing." 

"So why are you here?" Severus interrupted, sounding as irritated as he looked. 

"To help," Fred replied as if it was the most obvious thing on Earth. "Dumbledore owled us." 

"I should warn you this is a lot more dangerous than Dumbledore thinks," he warned. 

"Oh?" 

"He just killed Lucius Malfoy," Judith explained. "We think it may have pissed Voldemort off slightly." 

They grinned. "Really? Can we see the body?" 

"We left it in a bookshop in Oxford surrounded by lots of confused people," Severus said. 

"And someone who was just catching on," Judith added. 

"There was?" Severus sounded puzzled. 

"The bloke in the Quidditch t-shirt," she said. "He was looking how I felt when I saw Draco Malfoy in the alley." 

"Never saw him." 

"Maybe it's another thing like the poster." 

"What poster?" the twins interrupted simultaneously. 

"In the bookshop, there was a poster for the books," Judith said,"and Sev didn't see it until I pointed it out." 

"I told you not to call me that," Severus sounded threatening. 

"He likes it really," Judith said airily to the twins, "he just won't admit it in front of you." 

"Sounds like The Taming of the Shrew," said George, raising his eyebrows. 

"You never said it was like that between you two," Fred added with a mischeivous grin. 

Judith snorted. "It isn't," she replied. "My purpose in life is to annoy him. What are you doing, reading Shakespeare?" she added quickly, partly because she wanted to know but also because Severus was looking very irritated and about to say something Judith might regret. 

"Shakespeare was a wizard," Fred said. "All of his plays were originally set in the wizarding world, but he translated them into the Muggle world to make more money." 

Judith yawned. "I think I'm about to fall asleep." 

"You drive badly enough awake," Severus said. "We should stop for the night." 

* * * 

Stopping for the night entailed three rooms in a Travelodge paid for with the last of Judith's money. It was worth it, though, to have some time to herself for the first time since she had met Draco Malfoy and Wotsisface Crabbe in the alley. Since then she had been surrounded by other people, to the point of sleeping on the sofa with Seamus and Dean the previous night. It was surprising that it had only been the evening before that she had found out this reality. 

It was still quite an effort to think of the books she was so familiar with as another facet of reality, but having the charaters - no, people - around helped. The twins were just as she had imagined them, and so were most of the others she had met so far, apart from Severus Snape. Severus, although she would never admit it to him in a million years, had always been her favourite character in the books because all the complexities of his life intrigued her. And now, in real life, he was even more complicated than she had thought. Judith was fascinated. 

She was about to turn the light out and try to sleep when there was a loud, angry yell from the room next to her - Severus's room. There were running footsteps as she pulled on her jeans under her nightie, and now raised voices arguing, lots of them, some sounding twin-like and surprised. Judith yanked a jumper over her head and went out into the hallway. Severus's door was ajar. 

Inside, he had his wand out and pointing at a burly, brown-haired man sitting on the floor looking slighty dazed and more than a little confused. He had a visible lump on the side of his head which he was gingerly prodding. Fred and George had their wands pointed at Severus. 

"It's Oliver Wood, you fool!" George was shouting. "If you leave him alone maybe we can find out what's wrong with him!" 

* * * 

Hmm...so where's this going? Why has Oliver Wood suddenly appeared in a random Travelodge, in Severus Snape's room, of all places? And what's with Judith peeling invisible spells off her car? Answers may or may not be found in Chapter 6 of the immortal saga of Climbing Up The Walls... 


End file.
